A Reluctant Look BackJewry and the Holocaust in Ukraine

Abstract

Ukraine was once a centre of East European Jewish life. Most Ukrainian Jews were killed during the Holocaust. Jewish culture in Ukraine perished with them. In the Soviet Union, that culture slipped into oblivion. While Ukraine’s official politics of remembrance omits the country’s Jewish heritage, private individuals and organisations are trying to embed Jewish culture and history as a part of Ukrainian identity in the public consciousness. This is a painful process: It demands that Ukrainians recognise their share of the responsibility in the annihilation of the Jews in their country.